New revelations have surfaced regarding the tragic death of Jay Slater, the 19-year-old British apprentice bricklayer who vanished in Tenerife last June after attending the NRG Music Festival. His body was found a month later at the bottom of a remote ravine near the mountain village of Masca, with severe head injuries consistent with a fall from a significant height.
Investigative journalist and former detective Mark Williams-Thomas has spent months delving into the circumstances surrounding Jay’s disappearance and death, uncovering fresh details that shed light on the young man’s final hours. His findings are set to be released in a two-part podcast titled "Jay Slater: The Investigation," scheduled for release in the week of June 12, 2025.
According to Williams-Thomas, Jay had been heavily under the influence of a "drug cocktail," including MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine, as confirmed by toxicology reports. The presence of these substances likely contributed to erratic behavior on the night he vanished. Jay’s body was discovered on July 15, 2024, near Masca, a notoriously rugged and treacherous area locals refer to as "the lost village." The terrain is so challenging that it has been the site of more rescues than anywhere else in the Canary Islands.
One of the most startling revelations involves Jay’s alleged theft of a bag of ketamine from Ayub Qassim, a 31-year-old convicted drug dealer who rented the Airbnb where Jay stayed shortly before his disappearance. Qassim, who has a history involving a nine-year prison sentence for flooding Cardiff’s streets with Class A drugs, was the last person to see Jay alive. He told Williams-Thomas that Jay fled the Airbnb "because he’s f***ed off with the ket and he went missing." Jay reportedly concealed two kitchen knives down his trousers, telling a friend he was "on a mission" and unable to return to the rental property for fear of repercussions.
Jay’s friend Lucy Law, who had been holidaying with him, spoke publicly for the first time in the podcast. She recounted a final phone conversation where Jay said he had armed himself "just in case" and that he couldn’t return to the Airbnb. Law also revealed that Jay had sent a photo to a friend showing two knives tucked into his waistband with the caption: "I've got these for my protection." However, Ayub Qassim denied any knowledge of the knives, stating he was asleep upstairs when Jay left and that this was the first he had heard of them.
On the morning of June 18, 2024, Jay left the Airbnb in Masca, intending to return to his hotel in Los Cristianos. The journey on foot would have taken approximately 10 to 11 hours through steep and dangerous mountain terrain. Before leaving, Jay told Qassim that a woman had told him buses ran every 10 minutes from the village, but Qassim warned him this was not true and offered to drive him later. Jay refused, insisting he needed to "scram" and "chip out". He was last seen walking away quickly, possibly down some steps near the village.
Brandon Hodgson, a mutual friend who was partying with Jay the night before, shared details of their final Snapchat conversation. Jay was laughing and sent his location as he began walking back. Despite Brandon’s advice to return, Jay was resolute, saying, "I’m not going back, I don’t want to go back, I just want to go home." The last confirmed sighting of Jay alive was by a café owner who saw him asking about bus times before walking away fast from the village.
Jay’s disappearance sparked one of the largest manhunts in Tenerife’s history, with volunteers and search-and-rescue teams combing the rugged terrain. Dutch search volunteers from Signi Zoekhonden used scent dogs to track Jay’s clothing, confirming the difficulty of the terrain and estimating that Jay had been walking for about three and a half hours before his fall.
Further complicating the case, Jay admitted in messages sent on the morning he vanished to stealing a £12,000 Rolex watch and attempting to sell it for a mere £10. He told a friend: "Yes cuz ended up getting thrown out of there me with 2 Mali kids just took an AP off some xxxx on way to sell it for 10 quid." This admission adds a layer of complexity to the events leading up to his disappearance, suggesting possible involvement in risky behavior shortly before his death.
The inquest into Jay’s death, held in May 2025 at Preston Coroner’s Court, was adjourned after his mother, Debbie Duncan, made a tearful plea for more witnesses to come forward. Several key individuals, including Lucy Law, Bradley Hargreaves, and Brandon Hodgson, were either untraceable or unavailable to give evidence. Debbie described the ordeal as heart-wrenching and expressed frustration at the lack of cooperation from some witnesses. Lucy Law’s stepfather revealed she was unaware of the inquest and was reportedly holidaying in Tenerife again during the hearing.
Debbie has been haunted by videos of Jay at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas, where he was seen raving and appearing unsteady on his feet, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. She acknowledged the prevalence of drugs at such events but was unsure whether Jay had taken any that night. The distress caused by the case was further intensified by vile and fake messages sent to Debbie during the search, including one from a 15-year-old boy claiming to have held Jay hostage and killed him, which was later debunked.
The Airbnb property where Jay stayed, formerly known as Casa Abuela Tina, has since been renamed Casa El Turron. Locals expressed a desire to move on from the tragedy, with some frustrated by the attention the property has drawn from tourists and media alike.
The investigation also highlighted the rampant drug scene on Tenerife’s Veronicas strip, where drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, and cannabis are openly offered to tourists at prices ranging from €50 to €80 per gram. Williams-Thomas noted the ease with which these substances were available and the apparent indifference of local authorities to the drug trade in the area.
Despite the tragic outcome, Williams-Thomas emphasized that his investigation "strongly rules out third party involvement" in Jay’s death from the time he was at the Airbnb. The evidence suggests Jay’s death was a tragic accident, likely resulting from a fall while he was disoriented and under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Ayub Qassim, meanwhile, has publicly criticized Williams-Thomas on social media, accusing him of "profiting from their grief" but has indicated he will attend the next inquest hearing. The coroner’s office and Spanish authorities remain hopeful that the resumption of the inquest and new witness testimonies will bring much-needed clarity to the circumstances of Jay Slater’s untimely death.
